"The Middle East is the great hope and the great preoccupation of Benedict XVI and the Church". It was stated by Card. Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Oriental Churches, in an interview with the weekly of the diocese of Trento ("Vita Trentina"). The Middle East, explained Cardinal Sandri, "is the great hope because the ecumenical attendance and the attendance of other religions which has been going on for a long time, may offer us experiences and trends for dialogue, which we must implement everywhere. Today’s challenge, before our eyes, is the one relating to the meeting between cultures and religions". However, added the cardinal, "the Middle East is also the great preoccupation for everybody. We see how difficult agreement is, and how violence goes on in spite of the numerous attempts of peace. The Christians in the Middle East risk disappearing, while they deserve to stay there, where they always have been, and where they demonstrated to stick to their faith as well as their culture and their fatherland. Hope may come from peace only. And the international community must never stop pursuing it". (To be continued)
